BREAKING Nov. 2, 2016: Clinton E-Mail Investigation

"Hillary Rodham Clinton served as U.S. Secretary of State from January 21, 2009 to February 1, 2013. The FBI conducted an investigation into allegations that classified information was improperly stored or transmitted on a personal e-mail server she used during her tenure. [more]

"MISHANDLING OF CLASSIFIED - UNKNOWN SUBJECT OR COUNTRY (SIM)This report recounts the information collected in this investigation. It is not intended to address potential inconsistencies in, or the validity of, the information related herein.

On July 10, 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a full investigation based upon a referral received from the US Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG), submitted in accordance with Section 811(c) of the Intelligence Authorization Act of 1995 and dated July 6, 2015, regarding the potential unauthorized transmission and storage of classified information on the personal e-mail server of formerSecretary of State Hillary Clinton (Clinton). a The FBI’s investigation focused on determining whether classified information was transmitted or store on unclassified systems in violation of federal criminal [END PAGE 1] statues and whether classified information was compromised by unauthorized individuals, to include foreign governments or intelligence services, via cyber intrusion or other means.

a. For a complete listing of the interviews conducted, electronic media collected, legal process issued, and classified e-mails identified during this investigation, please refer to Appendices A-D. As background, Clinton was Secretary of State from January 21, 2009 through February 1, 2013.

In furtherance of its investigation, the FBI acquired computer equipment and mobile devices, to include equipment associated with two separate e-mail server systems used by Clinton, and forensically reviewed the items to recover relevant evidence. In response to FBI requests for classification determinations in support of this investigation, US Intelligence Community (USIC) agencies determined that 81 e-mail chains, bc which FBI investigation determined were transmitted and stored on Clinton’sUNCLASSIFIED personal server systems, contained classified information ranging from the CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET/SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM levels at the time they were sent between 2009-2013. USIC agencies determination process administered by the US Department of State (State) in connection with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation identified approximately 2,000 additional e-mails currently classified CONFIDENTIAL and 1 e-mail currently classified SECRET, which FBI investigation determined were transmitted and stored and stored on Clinton’s UNCLASSIFIED personal server systems, contained classified information ranging from the CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET/SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM levels at the time they were sent between 2009-2013. USIC agencies determined that 68 of these e-mail chains remain classified. In addition, the classification determination process administered by the US Department of State (State) in connection with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation identified approximately 1 e-mail currently classified SECRET, which FBI investigation determined were transmitted and stored on at least two of Clinton’s personal server systems. d

The FBI’s investigation and forensic analysis did not find evidence confirming that Clinton’s e-mail accounts or mobile devices were compromised by cyber means. However, investigative limitations, including the FBI’s inability to obtain all mobile devices and various computer components associated with Clinton’s personal e-mail systems, prevented the FBI from conclusively determining whether the classified information transmitted and stored on Clinton’s personal server systems was compromised via cyber intrusion or other means. The FBI did find that hostile foreign actors successfully gained access to the personal e-mail accounts of individuals with whom Clinton was in regular contact, and, in so doing, obtained e-mails sent to or received by Clinton on her personal account.

In or around 2007, Justin Cooper, at the time an aide to former President William Jefferson Clinton (President Clinton), purchased an Apple OS X server (Apple Server) for the sole purpose of hosting e-mail services for President Clinton’s staff. 1,2 Due to concern over ensuring e-mail reliability and a desire the segregate e-mail for President Clinton’s various post-presidency endeavors, President Clinton’s aides decided to maintain physical control of the Apple Server in the Clinton residence at Chappaqua, New York (Chappaqua residence). 3, 4, 5 According to Cooper, in or around June 2008, a representative from Apple installed the Apple [please continue below]--

{b. The number of classified e-mail chains identified may change as classification determination responses continue to be returned to the FBI.c. For the purposes of the FBI’s investigation, an “e-mail chain” is defined as a set of e-mail responses having the same initial e-mail. The subject line may be edited in these chains to reflect the purpose of the forward or reply.d. State did not provide a determination with respect to the classification of these e-mails at the time they were sent. According to State Under Secretary of Management, Patrick Kennedy, unclassified information provided to State in confidence can later be considered classified when it is “further assessed the disclosure of such information might damage national security or diplomatic relationships.” Such information is referred to as “up-class” or up-classified.”[END PAGE 2]}

-- [here] Server in the basement of the Chappaqua residence. 6, 7 The FBI was unable to obtain records from Cooper or Apple to verify the installation. At the time, Cooper was the only individual with administrative access to the Apple Server; however, the Clinton family and their Chappaqua residence staff had physical access to the Apple Server. 8, 9 The Apple Server initially hosted the domains presidentclinton.com and wjcoffice.com, which were used by President Clinton's stafff, 10' 11

Prior to January 21, 2009, when she was sworn in as the US Secretary of State, Clinton used a personally-acquired BlackBerry device with service initially from Cingular Wireless and later AT&T Wireless, to access her e-mail accounts. 12, 13Clinton initially used the e-mail addresses This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and then changed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 14, 15 According to Cooper, in January 2009, Clinton decided to stop using her This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. e-mail address and instead began using a new private domain, clintonemail.com, to host e-mail service on the Apple Server. 16 Clinton stated to the FBI that she directed aides, in or around January 2009, to create the clintonemail.com account, and as a matter of convenience her clintonemail.com account was moved to an e-mail system maintained by President Clinton's aides. 17 While Cooper could not specifically recall registering the domain, Cooper was listed as the point of contact for clintonemail.com when the domain was registered with a domain registration services company, Network Solutions, on January 13, 2009. 18•19 Clinton used her att.blackberry.net e-mail account as her primary e-mail address until approximately mid-to-late January 2009 when she transitioned to her newly created This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. account. 20, 21 The FBI did not recover any information indicating that Clinton sent an e-mail from her This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. e-mail after March 18, 2009.

According to Cooper, in or around January 2009 the decision was made to move to another server because the Apple Server was antiquated and users were experiencing problems with e-mail delivery on their BlackBerry devices. 22, 23 At the recommendation of Huma Abedin, Clinton's long-time aide and later Deputy Chief of Staff at State, in or around fall 2008, Cooper contacted Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Clinton's2008 presidential campaign as an information technology specialist, to build the new server system and to assist Cooper with the administration of the server system. 24, 25, 26, 27Pagliano was in the process of liquidating the computer equipment from Clinton's presidential campaign when Cooper contacted Pagliano about using some of the campaign's computer equipment to replace the existing Apple Server at Clinton'sChappaqua residence. 28, 29Pagliano was unaware the server would be used by Clinton at the time he was building the server system; rather, he believed the server would be used by President Clinton's staff. 30Clinton told the FBI that at some point she became aware there was a server in the basement of her Chappaqua residence. 31 However, she was unaware of the transition from the Apple Server managed by Cooper to another server built by Pagliano and therefore, was not involved in the transition decision. 32

Second E-mail Server: March 2009 - June 2013

e The Apple Server consisted of an Apple Power Macintosh G4 or G5 tower and an HP printer.f Investigation determined various employees of President Clinton maintained e-mail accounts using the presidentclinton.com domain to include XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX President Clinton did not maintain an e-mail account on the Apple Server. The-mail domainwjcoffice.com was primarily a legacy domain that contained mostly forwarded e-mail.Page 3 of 47

Between the fall of 2008 and January 2009, Pagliano requisitioned the original hardware for the second e-mail server from Clinton's presidential campaign headquarters in Arlington, VA. 33 In addition to hardware acquired from Clinton's presidential campaign, Pagliano and Cooper g purchased additional necessary equipment through commercial vendors. 34, 35, 36, 37 In March 2009, after Pagliano had acquired all of the server equipment and installed the necessary software, he and Cooper met at Clinton's Chappaqua residence to physically install the server and related equipment in a server rack in the Clintons' basement. h, 38, 39

Once the new server system i was physically installed and powered on, Pagliano began migrating the e-mail data from the Apple Server to the Pagliano-administered server system (Pagliano Server).40 Pagliano believed he "popped out" all of the e-mail from the Apple Server and that no e-mail content should have remained on the Apple Server once the migration took place. 41Pagliano stated to the FBI that he only transferred clintonemail.com e-mail accounts for Abedin and XXXXXXXXX from the Apple Server and said he was unaware of and did not transfer an e-mail account for Clinton. j, 42 However, Cooper stated to the FBI that he believed Clinton had a clintonemail.com e-mail account on the Apple Server, and that Abedin did not have a clintonemail.com account on the Apple Server. 43 As the FBI was unable to obtain the original Apple Server for a forensic review for reasons explained below, the FBI cannot determine which clintonemail.com e-mail accounts were hosted on, and transferred from, the Apple Server to the Pagliano Server.

After the e-mail account migration was completed, Cooper changed the Mail Exchange (MX) records k to ensure that delivery of all subsequent e-mail to or from e-mail addresses on the presidentclinton.com and clintonemail.com domains would be directed toward the new Pagliano Server instead of the Apple Server. 44The Pagliano Server was only used for e­mail management, and the FBI's review of the oldest available backup image of this server, dated June 24, 2013, did not indicate that any e-mail users' files were stored on the Pagliano Server. 45

In March 2009, following the e-mail migration from the Apple Server to the Pagliano Server the Apple Server was repurposed to serve as a personal computer for household staff. 4 XXXXXXXXXXX Clinton's Chappaqua residence, subsequently used the Apple Server equipment as a workstation. 47 In 2014, the data on the Apple computer was transferred to an Apple iMac computer, and the hard drive of the old Apple computer, which [END PAGE 4]

g (U) Cooper had XXXXXXXXXXXXXX and was often responsible for reimbursing staff for purchaes/expenses.h Pagliano visited Clinton's Chappaqua residence on at least three occasions to work on the servere The Apple Server consisted of an Apple Power Macintosh G4 or G5 tower and an HP printer.

i The Pagliano Server initially consisted of the following equipment: a Dell PowerEdge 2900 server running Microsoft Exchange for e-mail hosting and management, a Dell PowerEdge 1950 server running BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) for the management of BlackBerry devices, a Seagate external hard drive to store backups of the Dell PowerEdge 2900 server, a Dell switch, a Cisco firewall, and a power supply.

j (U) An e-mail obtained during the FBI investigation from Cooper to Clinton, indicated that in April 2009, Cooper was preparing to update Clinton's BlackBerry to "put it on our new system."

k (U) An MX record determines which server will handle e-mail delivery for a domain and is necessary for routing e-mail to its proper destination.Page 4 of 47

[START PAGE 5] previously served as the Apple Server was discarded. 48 On October 14, 2015, Williams & Connolly LLP (Williams & Connolly), counsel for Clinton, confirmed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that a review of the iMac was conducted, pursuant to a request by DOJ, and no e­mails were found belonging to Clinton from the period of her tenure as Secretary of State. 49

(U//Fe-He) Pagliano and Cooper both had administrative accounts on the Pagliano Server. 50 At Cooper's direction, Pagliano handled all software upgrades and general maintenance. 51 Cooper described his role as "the customer service face," and he could add users or reset passwords on the e-mail server. 52Cooper and Pagliano both handled the acquisition and purchase of server-­related items. 53 For example, in March 2009, Cooper registered a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)1 encryption certificate at Pagliano's direction for added security when users accessed their e-mail from various computers and devices. 54, 55Clinton stated she had no knowledge of the hardware, software, or security protocols used to construct and operate the servers. 56 When she experienced technical issues with her e-mail account she contacted Cooper for assistance in resolving those issues. 57

(U//XXXX) Pagliano stated that a complete backup of the Pagliano Server was made on a Seagate external hard drive once a week and a differential backupm was completed every day, and this continued from the initial Pagliano Server installation in March 2009 until June 2011 when the external hard drive was replaced. 58 As space on the hard drive ran out, backups were deleted on a "first in, first out" basis. 59 In June 2011, Pagliano replaced the Seagate external 60 hard drive with a Cisco Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, to store backups of the server. The FBI was unable to forensically determine how frequently the NAS captured backups of the Pagliano Server.

(U/XXXX) According to Pagliano, in early 2013, due to user limitations and reliability concerns regarding the Pagliano Server, staff for Clinton and President Clinton discussed future e-mail server options, and a search was initiated to find a vendor to manage a Clinton e-mail server. 61 Additionally, Pagliano's expressed desire to seek new employment contributed to the decision to move to a new server. 62 A search for the new vendor was facilitated with the assistance of XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX infograte, an information technology consulting company. 63, 64, 65 XXXXX was introduced to Clinton's Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills, on or about January 2, 2013 through a mutual business associate. 66 XXXXXXXXX stated she worked with Mills and Pagliano to produce a request for proposal which was used to solicit responses from multiple firms, including Denver-based information technology firm Platte River Networks (PRN). 67Clinton recalled that the transition to the PRN Server was initiated by President Clinton's aides seeking a higher level of service than could be provided b the Paliano Server. 68 Pagliano identified President Clinton's XXXXXXXXXX as making the final decision to select PRN. 69 In the spring of 2013, PRN negotiated the terms of the contract to host e-mail services and eventually signed a Secret Level Agreement on July 18, 2013. 70, 71

1 (U) SSL is a security protocol used to establish an encrypted connection between a server and another machine, allowing sensitive information such as login credentials or credit card information to be transmitted in an encrypted format instead of in plain text. SSL certificates, issued by a third-party Certificate Authority, are small files that must be installed on servers to establish secure sessions with web browsers.m (U) A differential backup is a cumulative backup of all changes that have occurred since the last full backup.n (U) A differential backup is a cumulative backup of all changes that have occurred since the last full backup.

(U//XXXX) Third E-mail Server: June 2013 - October 2015(U//XXXX) Following the selection of PRN to manage the Clinton's personal e-mail server and accounts, PRN's management assigned two PRN employees to handle the primary installation and administration of the third server system (PRN Server). 72 XXXXXXXXX who worked remotely from his home in XXXXXXX handled day-to-day

FBI [General] Public Policy Information: Public corruption, the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority, poses a fundamental threat to our national security and way of life. It can affect everything from how well our borders are secured and our neighborhoods protected to how verdicts are handed down in courts to how public infrastructure such as roads and schools are built. SOURCE:OFFICIAL FBI WEBSITE - PUBLIC CORRUPTIONIt also takes a significant toll on the public’s pocketbooks by siphoning off tax dollars—it is estimated that public corruption costs the U.S. government and the public billions of dollars each year. The FBI is uniquely situated to combat corruption, with the skills and capabilities to run complex undercover operations and surveillance. SOURCE:OFFICIAL FBI WEBSITE - PUBLIC CORRUPTION